We’re in a war with a country that is almost 30 times bigger than us, with an enemy whose military capabilities outnumber ours in absolutely every indicator — from the raw number of troops down to the thousands of aircraft they have. Russia’s deadly offensive was supposed to be over within three days. And yet, we stand. And we will be standing until this murderous horde is either across the border or remain buried in our ground.

Nothing is easy. There are deadly and bloody battles in Bakhmut. Every single day and night Russia rains missiles on Zaporizhzhia, Kherson, Kharkiv, Dnipro, Mykolaiv, Odesa, Poltava, Chernihiv, Kirovograd, Sumy and their surrounds as well as the Donetsk region.

They are either launching missiles from their land, heavily shelling the regions across their border, or firing them from ships or fighter jets stationed on our occupied territories and seas. Of course, Russia would be extremely happy to launch strikes on every single one of our cities, towns and villages, but their planes and helicopters would be shot down within minutes and they know to stay far away from our sky.

Furthermore, Russian President Vladimir Putin miscalculated his stock of missiles, so they now have to collect them to launch a massive missile attack once every few weeks. Pathetic. Russia didn’t even have enough common sense to take stock of its missiles and manufacturing capacity before launching a war…

If you were wondering, that is the reason Russia is running around the world, from Iran to North Korea, begging for weapons. And it is hilarious. So today, I’ve decided to do a 180-degree turn, let the horrors of my country stay with me and tell you a few points about the “great” Russia that are bound to make you laugh.

• Sergey Lavrov forgot he isn’t in Russia

These days Russians aren’t welcomed abroad much, thus the travelling calendar of Russia’s top diplomat is wide open and it seems Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov is a tad out of practice when it comes to public speaking. His self-delusion reached a new high when he was speaking in New Delhi during an event that was a part of the gathering of the G20 group of industrialised nations. Lavrov forgot that he wasn’t home in Russia addressing a brainwashed crowd, so he said, and I quote:

“The war which we are trying to stop and which was launched against us.”

The audience immediately exploded with laughter. Some people were actually shouting, “Come on!” The clip went viral. I urge you to google it if just to see Lavrov’s baffled face.

• Russia’s unscripted propaganda

Everything in Russia is made up, scripted, montaged and filmed well in advance. Thus, if any out-of-the-box event happens, all hell breaks loose. Last week, Putin gave a big speech about how well Russia is protected and how Russian borders are safe, sound and fully under control. And the next day something happened in a small village in Russia’s Bryansk and the Russian propaganda machine, just like the Russian army, immediately malfunctioned. Let me list some of the crazy things they said:

• a) Ukrainian saboteurs crossed the border and opened fire on civilians. (No Ukrainians crossed the border.)
• b) Ukrainian saboteurs opened fire on a school bus killing a girl. (The school in that village was closed, they don’t have a school bus, and there was no girl.)
• c) The girl was actually wounded and survived. (There was no girl.)
• d) Fifty Ukrainian saboteurs were holding the whole village hostage. (No one from Ukraine was there.)
• e) Ukrainians shot an 11-year-old boy in the back. (No.)
• f) Ukrainian soldiers shot a boy in his chest and he ran into the woods. (No.)
• g) A wounded 11-year-old boy saved two girls from a car that Ukrainians shot at. (Never happened.)
• h) A boy named Fedor was shot in his ribcage. (No.)
• i) A boy named Fedor with a weapon fragment was rushed to the hospital. (Never happened.)
• j) A boy named Ilya died. (No.)
• k) Ukrainian saboteurs undermined an electric substation and a gas station. (I’m pretty sure there’s no gas or electricity in Russian villages.)

All of the above, and more, was reported by Russian mass media and Telegram channels, plus it was also officially confirmed by the Russian FSB. Then the Kremlin informed the country about a terrorist attack. Putinʼs press secretary, Dmitry Peskov, said that Putin cancelled his trip to one of Russia’s regions, and announced an urgent meeting of the Security Council. Honestly, just unbelievable.

What did happen in reality and not in the crazy Russian propaganda world is: Russian citizens, who call themselves the Russian Volunteer Corps (RVC) took responsibility for the incident. They are fighting in Ukraine against Putin and his murderous horde and they purposely crossed the border (completely unobstructed, I might add) to ask Russian citizens to stand with them against Putin’s terrorist regime.

• Partisans, a drone and an A-50

Now this one takes the cake. Really. A short while ago Russia’s top plane, an A-50, was attacked. The early warning and control aircraft was damaged after an explosion at the Machulishchy airfield in Belarus and has been transported to Russia for repairs. So, if you are wondering how in the world a plane worth half a billion dollars gets attacked during a war, well, it turns out – easily! Belarusian partisans, who claim the attack, released a video that clearly shows a drone freely flying on to the airfield, locating the plane and landing right on top of its radar dish. It is a very funny video and I urge you to see it. DM